Free Lie Down in Green Pastures by Debbie Viguié

Scout leader for the area. He and Dr. Tanner were both on the board—"
    "For Green Pastures," Mark finished with her.
    "Oh! Do you think Dr. Tanner was coming to see Larson?" Cindy asked.
    "I'd be willing to bet on it," Mark said. "And I'm not a betting man."
    With that terrible poker face, you shouldn't be, she thought.
    "Joseph told Paul yesterday that Dr. Tanner was supposed to meet with someone Wednesday night or Thursday morning to help shed light on the sale of the camp."
    "It's possible he was talking about Larson."
    "But Larson would have been able to voice his opinions directly in the board meeting."
    "Unless he was afraid of something or someone," Mark said.
    Cindy shook her head. "Larson Beck isn't afraid of anything."
    "Everyone's afraid of something," Mark said.
    And some of us are afraid of everything, like me.
    Cindy felt like she was grasping at a thought that kept just barely eluding her. It was important; she could feel it. "What if . . ."
    She stopped, feeling the pieces slowly falling into place.
    "What?" Mark pushed.
    "What if whoever he met with killed him?"
    Mark was nodding. "Maybe. I'm guessing that whatever that meeting was about certainly was connected to his murder."
    A flash of understanding crossed Mark's face.
    "What is it? You figured it out, didn't you? Tell me," Cindy pleaded.
    "It's just speculation at this point," he said, talking more to himself than to her.
    "I don't care. This whole thing has been speculation. Let me know what you're thinking. I can help. I know I can."
    "What if Dr. Tanner and the person he met with were both killed?" Mark asked.
    "I don't understand—" she started to say and then stopped."You mean the environmentalist?"
    "Exactly. He was planning on causing a huge uproar over the proposed land sale. Turns out some rare birds use that area as their nesting ground. What if—"
    "What if he was the person Dr. Tanner was meeting with when he told Joseph there was someone who could shed light on the whole situation?" Cindy finished.
    "Yes."
    "And somebody else linked the two of them together and killed them both?"
    "That's about the size of it," Mark said.
    "But who would do that?"
    "Someone who wanted to make sure Max Diamond bought Green Pastures, no matter the cost."
    "No matter the cost," she echoed, her blood turning to ice in her veins. She thought of what she had read on the internet about the rancher's wife. She thought about telling Mark, but so far it was an isolated incident. Another thought occurred to her, though. "There are other board members who are against the sale," she whispered. She stood abruptly to her feet.
    "Where are you going?"
    "I have to warn Joseph."

 
     
     
    6
     
     
     
     
    S ETTLE DOWN," MARK TOLD CINDY, PUSHING HER BACK DOWN INTO THE chair. "If the murders are linked and the killer is going after people opposing the sale, we don't want to tip our hand too early."
    "But Joseph—"
    "Is both a potential victim and a potential suspect at this point," Mark said.
    Cindy blinked. "Suspect? How could he possibly be a suspect?"
    "At this point anyone connected with Green Pastures is a suspect as far as I'm concerned," Mark said. "I don't think Joseph had anything to do with these murders, but I don't want to accidentally tip offwhoever did by telling Joseph too much."
    She bit her lip and fidgeted in the hard, plastic chair, feeling very much like a kindergartner who had just been told she had to sit quiet the whole day. Kindergartners weren't putting their friends' lives in jeopardy, though.
    "He's a friend, and so is Geanie. I can't risk them getting hurt."
    "Don't worry. We'll do everything we can to protect them now that we have at least a theory about what is going on here."
    Cindy remembered police protection that had not gone so well in the past, but decided it was not the time to bring it up.She didn't need to antagonize Mark.
    "Do you have a list of people who sit on that board?" he asked.
    "No, but Joseph can give you that." She